Which to use
“écarts” and “éclats” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #9,418
- “écarts” frequency rank
- #11,154
- “éclats” frequency rank
- 20572
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | écarts | éclats |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Pluriel de écart. | Pluriel de éclat. |
Where the eye mixes écarts and éclats
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. écarts (VCVCCC) and éclats (VCCVCC) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Why the eye confuses écarts with éclats
A purely visual mix-up. écarts (\e.kaʁ\) and éclats (\e.kla\) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 20572, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
écarts is recorded at frequency rank #9,418, classified as anoun, pronounced \e.kaʁ\. éclats is at rank #11,154, tagged as anoun, pronounced \e.kla\.
Glosses for this pair are partially populated in our dataset, but the full side-by-side definitions above should still guide you to the right choice.
With a confusion score of 20572, this pair ranks #367,583 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of écarts vs éclats
Shared letters: acsté. Private to "écarts": r. Private to "éclats": l.
"écarts" · 6 letters · shape VCVCCC · "éclats" · 6 letters · shape VCCVCC
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "écarts" and "éclats" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Frequency check: "écarts" vs "éclats" - which ranks higher?
After this comparison
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "écarts" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "éclats" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #367,583 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "écarts" and "éclats" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "écarts vs épars". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #367,583 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.